In this week's New Times, you read about how difficult it is for police to break up brutal dog-fighting rings -- even with tough new laws on the books. Unless cops see a fight in person, as they did in a Miami case, they rarely get the conviction.
Miami-Dade has one of the country's oldest bans against the entire breed of pit bulls. And, as I wrote back in May, the ban has led Animal Services to take hundreds of healthy, friendly dogs -- many of which probably aren't even real pit bulls -- away from owners to die from a lethal injection.
Everyone from the Humane Society to the American Veterinary Medical Association opposes the ban, but it's still on the books. This weekend, the Miami Coalition Against Breed Specific Legislation -- a group trying to end the ban in Miami -- is co-hosting a barbecue in Fort Lauderdale.
The picnic, sponsored by a Rottweiler rescue organization and called the All-Breed K9 Octoberfest, promises to bring many of Miami's underground pit bull owners out into the open for an afternoon, says Jesus Rivero, a coalition member.
"Our main purpose at this event is to raise awareness of pit bulls in general ... and to raise money to overturn the ban," Rivero tells Riptide.
Interested in bringing your illegal Miami pit bull up north, or just in sticking it to an inane law? The festivities start at 8 a.m. in Ty Park in Hollywood. Find more info here.
